A 27-year-old Coral Springs man is facing federal charges after authorities say he helped run a sweepstakes scam that convinced more than 100 victims, mostly seniors, to send over $3.5 million in fake prize fees. Evans Class Brown was taken into custody on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service on August 19 in Broward County and was being held at the Broward Sheriff’s Office main jail facility in Fort Lauderdale as he awaits extradition to South Carolina, where the case originated.
Brown faces federal charges including wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, according to WPLG Local 10. Prosecutors say the scheme worked by convincing victims they had won cash prizes in a sweepstakes, then telling them they needed to pay taxes and fees before the winnings could be released. Victims sent that money through the mail or by wire transfer, believing a payout was on the way.
Federal prosecutors identified five of Brown’s accused co-conspirators as Charleston residents Kemar Christopher Edwards, 28; Xavier Gordon, 25; Warner Gordon, 27; and Kevin Milton Simpson, 30; along with Tashagae Narcia Leslie, a 25-year-old Orlando resident. Two additional co-defendants named in the case are Justine Danielle Smith, a 34-year-old arrested in Connecticut, and Marcia Minora Lawrence. Under federal criminal procedure, Brown’s arrest on an out-of-district warrant means he must go through formal removal proceedings before a U.S. Magistrate Judge before the Marshals Service can transport him to South Carolina for trial.
A Years-Long Scheme Unsealed in South Carolina
Federal court documents unsealed in South Carolina show the grand jury indictment was actually returned back in January, alleging the co-conspirators had been running the sweepstakes scheme continuously since 2019, according to the Post and Courier. The indictment stayed sealed while federal agents worked to locate and arrest the defendants scattered across multiple states. Court records show three of the Charleston-based co-defendants — Xavier Gordon, Kevin Milton Simpson and Kemar Christopher Edwards — were each released on a $25,000 unsecured bond back in late March…